Laminated wooden post for building structure

ABSTRACT

In a post type building formed by a plurality of spaced posts along the side of the building, each post is formed from a plurality of plies formed by dimensional lumber pieces with each ply being formed by at least two lumber pieces arranged end to end at a butt joint. The two lumber pieces forming each butt joint are connected together by at least one first truss plate bridging the butt joint and contacting the wider faces of the pieces. The plies forming the post are also connected together by a plurality of second truss plates at the junctions and at spaced positions along the post with each second truss plate contacting the narrower faces of each of the pieces, where each of the first and second truss plates including a flat plate portion for lying flat against a face of the lumber piece and a plurality of punched projection portions lying at right angles to the plate portion and engaging into the lumber piece.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] Many industrial and agricultural buildings are formed as pole or post structures formed simply from a series of wooden posts arranged at spaced positions along the side of the building where the lower end of the post is engaged into the ground and the upper end of the post stands upwardly from the ground to carry the structure of the building. In many cases the lower end of the post is supported in a concrete pile but this is not necessary and the post may be simply engaged into the ground.

[0002] The building structure is then completed by providing stringers along the sides of the building interconnecting the posts and cladding on the sides of the building as required. In some cases the cladding may be insulated and may be on both inside and outside surfaces but again this is not necessary to the structure, depending upon requirements for the particular building.

[0003] At the top of the post is provided a header which supports roof trusses and a roof structure.

[0004] The main structure therefore requires the strength of the post to accommodate the various longitudinal and bending loads which are applied to the building from the load of the building itself and other forces such as snow load and win loads.

[0005] Such posts are generally formed as a laminate including the number of plies where each ply is formed from dimensional lumber. Up till now the laminate has been formed by applying transverse nails through the thickness of the post so as to interconnect each laminate to the others. Such posts have been well accepted and are widely used in many different buildings and building structures. The males have been accepted as the conventional technique for forming such laminated posts. However the males have the disadvantage that the nailing systems are difficult to operate and are restrictive to automation techniques which could allow the post to be manufactured more quickly and more cheaply.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] It is one object of the present invention to provide an improved laminated wooden post for use in a building structure.

[0007] According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a laminated wooden post comprising;

[0008] a plurality of plies formed by dimensional lumber pieces;

[0009] each lumber piece having a width between two narrower faces and a thickness between two wider faces;

[0010] the lumber pieces forming the plies being arranged with the wider faces in contact such that the width of the pieces is equal to a width of the post and the sum of the thicknesses of the pieces is equal to the thickness of the post;

[0011] each ply being formed by at least two lumber pieces arranged end to end at a butt joint;

[0012] the two lumber pieces forming each butt joint being connected together by at least one first truss plate bridging the butt joint and contacting the wider faces of the pieces;

[0013] the plies forming the post being connected together by a plurality of second truss plates at spaced positions along the post with each second truss plate contacting the narrower faces of each of the pieces;

[0014] each of the first and second truss plates including a flat plate portion for lying flat against a face of the lumber piece and a plurality of punched projection portions lying at right angles to the plate portion and engaging into the lumber piece.

[0015] Preferably end pieces of the lumber of the post are formed from treated lumber for engaging into the ground and other pieces are formed from non-treated lumber.

[0016] Preferably the butt joints are longitudinally off-set.

[0017] Preferably the first truss plates are located on the faces of the pieces facing outwardly toward an outside surface of the post.

[0018] Preferably the second truss plates are longer in a width across the thickness of the post than they are in a direction longitudinal of the post.

[0019] Preferably the second truss plates are substantially equal in width to the thickness of the post.

[0020] Preferably the first truss plates are substantially equal in width to the width of the pieces.

[0021] The posts as defined above are preferably used in a building comprising:

[0022] a plurality of vertical posts arranged along sides of the building;

[0023] connecting stringers extending along the sides and interconnecting the posts;

[0024] and cladding connected to the stringers and/or the posts;

[0025] the posts being engaged into the ground such that a lower end is supported by the ground and an upper end extends upwardly from the ground to support the building sides.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] One embodiment of the invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

[0027]FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a laminated post according to the present invention.

[0028]FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the post taken along the lines 2-2 of FIG. 1.

[0029]FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the post taken along the lines 3-3 of FIG. 1.

[0030]FIG. 4 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the post taken along the lines 4-4 of FIG. 1.

[0031]FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of a post building using a laminated post according to the present invention.

[0032] In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] In FIG. 5 is shown a conventional post type building which includes a series of posts 10 arranged at spaced positions along the side wall of a building 11. The posts extend into the ground below ground level 12 and the lower end is set into a concrete pile 13 from the base of a drilled hole 14. Thus a lower portion 10A of the post below ground level 12 is located underground and thus open to environmental damage and an upper portion 10B above the ground extends upwardly to an uppermost end 10C of the post. The posts are interconnected by stringers 15 and covered by a cladding 16. At the top of the post is provided a header 17 carrying roof trusses 18 which support a roof structure 19.

[0034] The posts 10 are formed as a laminate from plies of dimensional lumber with a lower portion of each post formed from treated lumber so as to be resistant to the environmental damage of moisture and the like as is well known. The lower part of the post is then connected to the upper part of the post which does not need to be pressure treated using the same resistance materials to form a complete post structure which extends from the lower end within the concrete 13 to the upper end 17.

[0035] The structure of the post is shown in FIGS. 1 through 4 and comprises a plurality of plies indicated respectively at A, B, C and D. It will be appreciated that posts of different dimensions can be manufactured depending upon structural requirements and hence the number of plies may vary. Normally the number of plies is three or four but this is not essential to the invention.

[0036] Thus the lower part of the post as indicated in FIG. 1 is formed from treated lumber indicated at T and the upper part of the post above a connection of the treated lumber is formed from non treated lumber indicated at NT. Each ply A-D is formed from lumber having a width W equal to the width of the post as indicated in FIG. 2 and a thickness T1 which is a part only of the complete thickness T2 of the post. Normally there are thickness of the plies is equal so that each ply is ¼ of the thickness of the post as shown in FIG. 1 where there are four plies.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 1, the connection between the top of the plies B and C and the bottom of the next portion of lumber forming the ply is indicated at B1 and C1. A connection between the outer plies A and D is indicated at A1 and D1. It will be noted that the connections B1 and C1 are longitudinally offset from the connections A1 and B1. Preferably in the arrangement shown the connections B1 and C1 are at the same longitudinal location and similarly the connections A1 and B1 are at the same longitudinal location but again this is not essential to the construction and all may be offset from one another if preferred.

[0038] The connection of the ply B at B1 is formed by abutted connection of the lumber pieces which is bridged by a first truss plate 20. The truss plate 20 bridges the connection between the lumber pieces forming the ply B and is located symmetrically on either side of the connection or butt B1. Similarly the ply C is connected by a truss plate 21 bridging the connection or butt C1. Preferably these truss plates are arranged on the outsides of the plies B and C that is between the ply B and the ply A and between the ply C and ply D. However one or both may be on the inside that is between the plies B and C.

[0039] The joint between the plies B and C is further reinforced by two second truss plates 23 and 24 on the sides of the post. Thus the truss plates 23 and 24 bridge the faces between the plies A, B, C and D and hold the plies together. Also the truss plates bridge the butt connections B1 and C1 thus providing additional strength to that connection.

[0040] In a symmetrical manner the plies A and D are connected at the butt connections A1 and D1 by first truss plates 25 and 26. The truss plate 25 is arranged to connect the ply A at the butt connection 81 and bridges the butt connection accordingly. The truss plate 25 is arranged on the outside surface of the ply A. Symmetrically the truss plate 26 bridges the butt connection D1 of the ply D and is arranged on the outside surface of the ply D.

[0041] Symmetrically the sides of the plies are again connected by second truss plates 27 and 28.

[0042] The plies are further connected by additional truss plates 30 in between the second truss plates 23, 24 and 27, 28. The truss plates 30 thus act to hold the plies together to prevent movement apart under longitudinal or bending loads.

[0043] In one example, the butt connections B1 and C1 can be offset from the butt connections A1 and D1 in a longitudinal direction by a distance of the order of two feet. This can be obtained by using dimensional lumber which is six feet and eight feet in length thus providing an offset between the ends of two feet. In such an arrangement the first and second truss plates may have a width substantially equal to the width of the respective side which is of the order of six inches. The width is slightly less than the respective side so as to avoid interference between the truss plates at the corners of the posts. The truss plates may have a length longitudinally of the post of the order of five inches which provides structural strength and connection to the post sufficient to provide the necessary mechanical structure of the post.

[0044] The intervening additional truss plates 30 may have a height of the order of three inches and again have a width substantially equal to the width of the post.

[0045] The above dimensions can of course vary depending upon mechanical requirements and depending upon the dimensions of the post and the number of plies.

[0046] The truss plates are of a conventional construction and they are formed from sheet metal of a suitable gauge which is punched so as to form projecting points which extend at right angles to the plate. The plate is then pressed into the lumber so that the points engage into the lumber at right angles to the surface of the lumber until the plate sits against the surface of the lumber. The gauge of the material can be selected depending upon the structural and mechanical requirements but is of course sufficient so that the projecting points have sufficient strength to be pressed into the lumber to provide the necessary mechanical engagement therewith. In the lower section 10A of the post, the truss plates can be formed from stainless steel or other moisture resistant materials to prevent corrosion.

[0047] Since various modifications can be made in my inventionias herein above described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made within the spirit and scope of the claims without department from such spirit and scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense. 

1. A laminated wooden post comprising; a plurality of plies formed by dimensional lumber pieces; each lumber piece having a width between two narrower faces and a thickness between two wider faces; the lumber pieces forming the plies being arranged with the wider faces in contact such that the width of the pieces is equal to a width of the post and the sum of the thicknesses of the pieces is equal to the thickness of the post; each ply being formed by at least two lumber pieces arranged end to end at a butt joint; the butt joints of at least two of the plies being longitudinally off-set; the two lumber pieces forming each butt joint being connected together by at least one first truss plate bridging the butt joint and contacting the wider faces of the pieces; the plies forming the post being connected together by a plurality of second truss plates at the butt joints, with each second truss plate contacting the narrower faces of each of the pieces; each of the first and second truss plates including a flat plate portion for lying flat against a face of the lumber piece and a plurality of punched projection portions lying at right angles to the plate portion and engaging into the lumber piece.
 2. The post according to claim 1 wherein end pieces of the lumber of the post are formed from treated lumber for engaging into the ground and other pieces are formed from non-treated lumber.
 3. The post according to claim 1 wherein there are additional second truss plates intermediate the butt joints at spaced positions along the post.
 4. The post according to claim 1 wherein the first truss plates are located on the faces of the pieces facing outwardly toward an outside surface of the post.
 5. The post according to claim 1 wherein the second truss plates are longer in a width across the thickness of the post than they are in a direction longitudinal of the post.
 6. The post according to claim 5 wherein the second truss plates are substantially equal in width to the thickness of the post.
 7. The post according to claim 1 wherein the first truss plates are substantially equal in width to the width of the pieces.
 8. A building comprising: a plurality of vertical posts arranged along sides of the building; connecting stringers extending along the sides and interconnecting the posts; and cladding connected to the stringers and/or the posts; the posts being engaged into the ground such that a lower end is supported by the ground and an upper end extends upwardly from the ground to support the sides; each of the posts comprising a laminated wooden post according to claim
 1. 